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| Silence is NOT always "Golden." |
Lunch was the best part. Basically our whole table was silent, except for our laughter while we tried to figure out what someone was trying to say. I was trying to ask my friends who was going to Sadie's, so I drew what I thought was a pretty good stick figure interpretation of what a dance would look like. I drew a pathetic disco ball and stick people with little lines around them, in an attempt to show that they were dancing. Then I put a big question mark over it, because I was trying to ask a question. I showed them and they gave me blank looks followed by laughter at my picture. I tried to save myself by adding musical notes around the people to get the idea that music was playing. Finally, someone next to us who could talk started guessing random things. They still were not getting the idea. I gave up with my drawings and tried to act out dancing in my seat. Everyone roared with laughter as I boogied in my seat trying to get them to understand I was DANCING! Once everyone, including myself, began to breathe again, they finally figured it out after they had some help with a lucky soul who could talk.
Postman was very right in saying that smoke signals don't help that much. Like my drawings, unless you had a system or code worked out, it was very hard to communicate with people. I would imagine smoke signals had their flaws as well, because there are no words to help explain what the signal means. He is right in saying that words are very important. Without words, ideas and thoughts are very complicated to try and explain to people.
I agree with your last line: "Without words, ideas and thoughts are very complicated to try and explain to people." Communicating anything other than simple facts with illistrations and charades was like trying to do smoke signals with philosophy: it was impossible!
ReplyDeleteEven though I didn't participate in the "smoke signals", it was still hard for me to understand others when they can't explain it with words. I agree that it was difficult to communicate with only pictures and hand signals because conversation has two parts: talking and listening. "Listening," or understanding what you meant, became more difficult when the concept became more complex, just like smoke signals can't get too complicated.
ReplyDeleteI also found myself "wanting to say something, realizing I can't say it, and getting all frustrated". Many people's frustration prevented them from portraying their message properly. You also bring up a good point that any story or question became difficult to express. Everything ended up being a comical sight that wasn't taken seriously.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you said. It happened to me to when someone would ask me a simple question I wouuld just answer out of habit before I could even stop myself. Atleast you drew all day I just gave up on drawing and was quite for most of the day becasue it got so frustrating.
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